DC: The novel has an undertone of disappointment in the failure of the counterculture to make any significant change. Does this reflect your own feelings, or did it simply spring out of Della’s character?

VV: Um… that would probably be me. I think one of the things we’re greatly disconnected from in this country is a sense of our own progressive history. The American Experiment is about newness. Generational identities. There has been a tragic amount of reinventing the wheel in the movements of the past 20 years—but then knowing that doesn't always help either. Your dad tries to tell you everything you need to know about sex and love and insight and it's like "Thanks man, I'll take it from here" and you careen off. It may just be natural. But it's not pretty. So do I wish things were different than they are? Yes. Am I Della? No.